DOVER — The Dover School Board has hired a new kindergarten teacher at Woodman Park School because of unanticipated enrollments, according to School Board chair Rocky D'Andrea.

D'Andrea said the hiring of a new teacher was not budgeted.

“Hopefully we can find a way to get it in,” D'Andrea said of financing the hiring. “I'm not overly concerned at this point.”

D'Andrea said the hiring and other expenses would cost the district around $70,000 to $75,000, which D'Andrea said represents a relatively small portion of the overall budget.

“It might mean that we won't buy a piece of equipment that we need,” he said.

State educational standards dictate that class sizes from kindergarten through second grade may not exceed 25 students.

Because of the unanticipated enrollments at Woodman Park, attendance would have exceeded the maximum in the five current kindergarten classes at the school. Therefore, the board opted to hire a sixth teacher after reviewing alternatives.

D'Andrea said principal Patrick Boodey made extensive efforts to find the best solution for the school, including exploring alternate bus routes to take children to different schools. This, however, would have resulted in overenrollment at two other elementary schools.

Other options included creating multiage or multigrade classrooms or not honoring school choice.

D'Andrea said Boodey deserved “a lot of credit” for his work. The hiring of a new kindergarten teacher will now reduce class sizes in each of the six rooms below the 25-student maximum.

The School Board also officially approved the contract for new Superintendent Antonio Fernandes, whose first official day of work was last Monday.